Which planet is the seventh from the sun. Planets of the solar system - photos and descriptions

> Planets solar system in order

Explore planets of the solar system in order. Photo in high quality, the location of the Earth and a detailed description of each planet around the Sun: from Mercury to Neptune.

Let's look at the planets of the solar system in order: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

What is a planet?

According to the criteria established by the IAU in 2006, an object is considered a planet:

on an orbital path around the Sun;
has sufficient massiveness for hydrostatic balance;
cleared the surrounding area of foreign bodies;

This led to the fact that Pluto could not meet the last point and moved into the ranks of dwarf planets. For the same reason, Ceres is no longer an asteroid, but has joined Pluto.

But there are also trans-Neptunian objects, which are considered a subcategory of dwarf planets and are called the plutoid class. These are celestial bodies rotating beyond the orbit of Neptune. These include Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Eris and Makemake.

Planets of the Solar System in order

Let's now study our planets of the solar system in order of increasing distance from the Sun with high quality photos.

Mercury

Mercury is the first planet from the Sun, 58 million km away. Despite this, it is not considered the hottest planet.

Now considered the tiniest planet, second in size to its moon Ganymede.

Diameter: 4,879 km
Mass: 3.3011 × 10 23 kg (0.055 Earth).
Length of year: 87.97 days.
Length of day: 59 days.
Included in the category of terrestrial planets. The crater surface resembles the Earth's Moon.
If you weigh 45 kg on Earth, you will gain 17 kg on Mercury.
No satellites.
Temperature ranges from -173 to 427 °C (-279 to 801 degrees Fahrenheit)
Only 2 missions were sent: Mariner 10 in 1974-1975. and MESSENGER, which flew past the planet three times before entering orbit in 2011.

Venus

It is 108 million km distant from the Sun and is considered an earthly sister because it is similar in parameters: 81.5% of the mass, 90% of the earth’s area and 86.6% of its volume.

Due to its thick atmospheric layer, Venus has become the hottest planet in the solar system, with temperatures rising to 462°C.

Diameter: 12104 km.
Mass: 4.886 x 10 24 kg (0.815 earth)
Length of the year: 225 days.
Length of day: 243 days.
Temperature heating: 462°C.
The dense and toxic atmospheric layer is filled with carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2) with drops of sulfuric acid (H2SO4).
No satellites.
Retrograde rotation is characteristic.
If you weigh 45 kg on Earth, you will gain 41 kg on Venus.
It was called the Morning and Evening Star because it is often brighter than any other object in the sky and is usually visible at dawn or dusk. Often even mistaken for a UFO.
Sent over 40 missions. Magellan mapped 98% of the planet's surface in the early 1990s.

Earth

The Earth is our home, living at a distance of 150 million km from the star. So far the only world that has life.

Diameter: 12760 km.
Weight: 5.97 x 10 24 kg.
Length of the year: 365 days.
Length of day: 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds.
Surface Heat: Average - 14°C, with ranges from -88°C to 58°C.
The surface is constantly changing, and 70% is covered by oceans.
There is one satellite.
Atmospheric composition: nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%) and other gases (1%).
The only world with life.

Mars

The Red Planet, 288 million km distant. Received its second name because of the reddish tint created by iron oxide. Mars resembles Earth due to its axial rotation and tilt, which creates seasonality.

There are also many familiar surface features, such as mountains, valleys, volcanoes, deserts and ice caps. The atmosphere is thin, so the temperature drops to -63 o C.

Diameter: 6787 km.
Mass: 6.4171 x 10 23 kg (0.107 Earth).
Length of the year: 687 days.
Length of day: 24 hours and 37 minutes.
Surface Temperature: Average - approximately -55°C with a range of -153°C to +20°C.
Belongs to the category of terrestrial planets. The rocky surface has been affected by volcanoes, asteroid attacks and atmospheric effects such as dust storms.
The thin atmosphere consists of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen (N2) and argon (Ar). If you weigh 45 kg on Earth, you will gain 17 kg on Mars.
There are two tiny moons: Phobos and Deimos.
Called the Red Planet because iron minerals in the soil oxidize (rust).
More than 40 spacecraft have been sent.

Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, living at a distance of 778 million km from the Sun. It is 317 times larger than the Earth and 2.5 times larger than all the planets together. Represented by hydrogen and helium.

The atmosphere is considered the most intense, where the wind accelerates to 620 km/h. There are also amazing auroras that almost never stop.

Diameter: 428400 km.
Mass: 1.8986 × 10 27 kg (317.8 Earth).
Length of year: 11.9 years.
Length of day: 9.8 hours.
Temperature reading: -148°C.
There are 67 known moons, and another 17 moons await confirmation of their discovery. Jupiter resembles a mini-system!
In 1979, Voyager 1 spotted a faint ring system.
If you weigh 45 kg on Earth, you will get 115 kg on Jupiter.
The Great Red Spot is a large-scale storm (larger than the Earth) that has not stopped for hundreds of years. IN last years there is a downward trend.
Many missions have flown past Jupiter. The last one arrived in 2016 - Juno.

Saturn

Distant 1.4 billion km. Saturn is a gas giant with a gorgeous ring system. There are layers of gas concentrated around a solid core.

Diameter: 120500 km.
Mass: 5.66836 × 10 26 kg (95.159 Earth).
Length of year: 29.5 years.
Length of day: 10.7 hours.
Temperature mark: -178 °C.
Atmospheric composition: hydrogen (H2) and helium (He).
If you weigh 45 kg on Earth, you will get about 48 kg on Saturn.
There are 53 known satellites with an additional 9 awaiting confirmation.
5 missions were sent to the planet. Since 2004, Cassini has been studying the system.

Uranus

Lives at a distance of 2.9 billion km. It belongs to the class of ice giants due to the presence of ammonia, methane, water and hydrocarbons. Methane also creates blue appearance.

Uranus is the frostiest planet in the system. The seasonal cycle is quite bizarre, as it lasts 42 years for each hemisphere.

Diameter: 51120 km.
Length of year: 84 years.
Length of day: 18 hours.
Temperature mark: -216°C.
Most of the planetary mass is a hot, dense liquid made from “icy” materials: water, ammonia and methane.
Atmospheric composition: hydrogen and helium with a small admixture of methane. Methane causes a blue-green hue.
If you weigh 45 kg on Earth, you will get 41 kg on Uranus.
There are 27 satellites.
There is a weak ring system.
The only ship sent to the planet was Voyager 2.

Neptune

Neptune is the last official planet, removed by 4.5 billion km. It is also a representative of the ice giants.

Due to its remoteness, it cannot be found without the use of telescopes. Detailed photos were taken during the flyby of the only mission - Voyager 2. There are satellites and a weak ring system.

Diameter: 49530 km.
Mass: 1.0243 x 10 26 kg (17 earth).
Length of the year: 165 years.
Length of day: 16 hours.
Temperature mark: -214°C.
The planet consists of hot water, ammonia and methane.
Atmospheric composition: hydrogen, helium and methane.
There are 13 confirmed satellites and 1 more is awaiting a verdict.
The ring system has 6 formations.
If you weigh 45 kg on Earth, you will get 52 kg on Neptune.
The position of the planet was determined thanks to mathematical calculations.
Only Voyager 2 flew to Neptune.

The solar system is a system of planets that includes its center, the Sun, as well as other objects in space. They revolve around the Sun. Until recently, “planet” was the name given to 9 objects in space that revolve around the Sun. Scientists have now established that beyond the boundaries of the solar system there are planets that orbit stars.

In 2006, the Union of Astronomers declared that the planets of the solar system are space objects spherical in shape, revolving around the Sun. On the scale of the solar system, the Earth appears extremely small. In addition to the Earth, eight planets revolve around the Sun in their individual orbits. All of them are larger than the Earth in size. Rotate in the plane of the ecliptic.

Planets in the Solar System: types

Location of the terrestrial group in relation to the Sun

The first planet is Mercury, followed by Venus; Next comes our Earth and, finally, Mars.
Terrestrial planets do not have many satellites or moons. Of these four planets, only Earth and Mars have satellites.

Planets that belong to the terrestrial group are highly dense and consist of metal or stone. Basically, they are small and rotate around their axis. Their rotation speed is also low.

Gas giants

These are the four space objects that are at the greatest distance from the Sun: Jupiter is at No. 5, followed by Saturn, then Uranus and Neptune.

Jupiter and Saturn are impressively sized planets made of hydrogen and helium compounds. The density of gas planets is low. They rotate at high speeds, have satellites and are surrounded by rings of asteroids.
The “ice giants,” which include Uranus and Neptune, are smaller; their atmospheres contain methane and carbon monoxide.

Gas giants have a strong gravitational field, so they can attract many cosmic objects, unlike the terrestrial group.

According to scientists, asteroid rings are the remains of moons changed by the gravitational field of the planets.

Dwarf planet

Dwarfs are space objects whose size does not reach the size of a planet, but exceeds the dimensions of an asteroid. There are a great many such objects in the Solar System. They are concentrated in the Kuiper belt region. The satellites of the gas giants are dwarf planets that have left their orbit.

Planets of the Solar System: the process of emergence

According to the cosmic nebula hypothesis, stars are born in clouds of dust and gas, in nebulae.
Due to the force of attraction, substances come together. Under the influence of the concentrated force of gravity, the center of the nebula contracts and stars form. Dust and gases transform into rings. The rings rotate under the influence of gravity, and planetasimals are formed in the whirlpools, which increase in size and attract cosmetic objects to themselves.

Under the influence of gravity, planetesimals are compressed and acquire spherical shapes. The spheres can unite and gradually turn into protoplanets.

There are eight planets within the solar system. They revolve around the Sun. Their location is as follows:
The closest “neighbor” of the Sun is Mercury, followed by Venus, followed by the Earth, then Mars and Jupiter, further from the Sun are Saturn, Uranus and the last one, Neptune.

All planets are located in a certain sequence, the distances between their orbits increase as the planets move away from the Sun.

Composition of the Solar System

Sun

Concentrated 99.9% of the total mass of the system. The star is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. Basically it's gigantic fusion reactor. Temperature is about 6000 °C. But the luminary exceeds 10,000,000 °C.

At a speed of 250 km/sec, our star rushes through space around the center, which is “only” 26,000 light years away. And one revolution takes about 180 million years.

Planets and their satellites

Earth group.

The closest to the Sun, but also the smallest of the planets. She turns around herself very slowly, behind full turn around the luminary making only one and a half revolutions around its axis. The planet has neither an atmosphere nor satellites, during the day it heats up to +430 °C, and at night it cools to -180 °C.

The most romantic and closest planet to Earth is also not suitable for habitation. It is tightly wrapped in a thick blanket of carbon dioxide clouds, and at temperatures up to + 475 ° C, it has a pressure at the surface dotted with craters of over 90 atmospheres. Venus is very close to Earth in size and mass.

Similar in structure to our planet. Its radius is half that of Earth, and its mass is an order of magnitude less. It would be possible to live here, but the lack of water and atmosphere prevents this. The Martian year is twice as long as the Earth's, but the days are almost the same length. Mars is richer than the first two planets, having two satellites: Phobos and Deimos, translated from Greek as “fear” and “terror”. These are small blocks of stone, very similar to asteroids.

Giant planets.

The largest gas giant planet. If its mass were several tens of times greater, it could really become a star. A day on the planet lasts about 10 hours, and a year passes in 12 Earth hours. Jupiter, like Saturn and Uranus, has a ring system. He has four of them, but they are not very pronounced; from afar you might not even notice them. But the planet has more than 60 satellites.

This is the most ringed planet the Solar System has. Saturn also has a feature that other planets do not have. This is its density. It is less than one, and it turns out that if you find a huge ocean somewhere and throw this planet into it, it will not drown. At this time, more than 60 satellites of this giant have been discovered. The main ones are Titan, Dione, Tethys. Saturn is similar to Jupiter in the structure of its atmosphere.

The peculiarity of this planet, which appears to the observer in blue-green tones, is in its rotation. The planet's rotation axis is almost parallel to the ecliptic plane. In layman's terms, Uranus lies on its side. But this did not stop him from acquiring 13 rings and 27 satellites, the most famous of which are Oberon, Titania, Ariel, and Umbriel.

Just like Uranus, Neptune is made of gas, including water, ammonia and methane. The latter, concentrating in the atmosphere, gives the planet a blue color. The planet has 5 rings and 13 satellites. The main ones: Proteus, Larissa, Nereid.

The largest among dwarf planets. It consists of a rocky core covered with a layer of ice. Only in 2015 did it fly to Pluto spacecraft and took detailed pictures. His main companion is Charon.

Small objects

Kuiper Belt. Part of our planetary system from 30 to 50 AU. e. The mass of small bodies and ice is concentrated here. They consist of methane, ammonia and water, but there are objects that include rocks and metals.

The orbits of these stone or metal blocks are mainly located near the ecliptic plane. The paths of some asteroids intersect with the Earth's orbit. And, although the probability of an unwanted meeting is negligible, but... 65 million years ago it probably still took place.

According to legend, a certain planet Phaeton, peacefully revolving around the star, was torn to shreds by Jupiter's gravity. And it turned out to be a beautiful asteroid belt. In fact, science does not confirm this.

If you translate this word from Greek, you get “long-haired.” And so it is. When the icy wanderer approaches the Sun, it spreads a long tail of evaporating gases over hundreds of millions of kilometers. The comet also has a head, consisting of a nucleus and a coma. The core is an ice block made of frozen gases with additions of silicates and metal particles. It is possible that some organic matter is also present. Coma is the gas and dust environment of a comet.

Jan Oort, back in 1950, proposed the existence of a cloud filled with objects made of icy ammonia, methane and water. It has not yet been proven, but it is possible that the cloud starts from 2 - 5 thousand AU, extending to 50 thousand AU. e. Most comets come from the Oort cloud.

Earth's place in the solar system

More good position It’s impossible to think of what it occupies. This part of our galaxy is quite calm. The sun provides a constant, uniform glow. It releases exactly as much heat, radiation and energy as is required for the origin and development of life. The Earth itself seemed to have been thought out in advance. Ideal atmospheric composition and geological structure. The required background radiation and temperature conditions. The presence of water with its amazing properties. The presence of exactly such a mass and at such a distance as required. There are many more coincidences that are crucial for a favorable life on the planet. And the violation of almost any of them would make the emergence and existence of life unlikely.

System stability

The revolution of the planets around the Sun occurs in one (direct) direction. The orbits of the planets are practically circular, and their planes are close to the Laplace plane. This is the main plane of the solar system. Our life is subject to the laws of mechanics, and the solar system is no exception. The planets are connected to each other by the law of universal gravitation. Based on the absence of friction in interstellar space, we can confidently assume that the motion of the planets relative to each other will not change. At least in the next million years. Many scientists have tried to calculate the future of the planets in our system. But everyone - and even Einstein - got one thing: the planets of the solar system will always be stable.

Some interesting facts

Temperature of the solar corona. The temperature near the Sun is higher than on its surface. This mystery has not yet been solved. Perhaps they have an effect magnetic forces atmosphere of the star.
Atmosphere of Titan. It is the only one of all the planetary satellites that has an atmosphere. And it consists mainly of nitrogen. Almost like earthly.
It remains a mystery why the activity of the Sun occurs with a certain periodicity and time.

Our planetary system has been studied successfully for a long time. The Moon, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn are under constant surveillance. Traces of people and all-terrain vehicles are left on our satellite. Autonomous rovers are driving around Mars, transmitting valuable information. The legendary Voyager has already flown through the entire solar system, crossing its boundaries. Even a comet. And a manned trip to Mars is already being prepared.

We are incredibly lucky to have settled in such a place in the Universe. Although no one has yet proven whether there are other worlds. But we still know so little about our system of beautiful planets. And now we are calm and businesslike. Or, perhaps, a pebble has already been released from the Oort cloud and is flying directly towards Jupiter. Or, nevertheless, this time to us?

The night sky amazes with countless stars. What is especially attractive is that they are all located in a certain place, as if someone specially placed them in such a way as to draw patterns in the sky. Since ancient times, observers have tried to explain the nature of the origin of constellations, galaxies, and individual stars, and to give beautiful names to planets. In ancient times, constellations and planets were given the names of mythical heroes, animals, and various characters from fairy tales and legends.

Types of stars and planets

A star is a celestial body that emits a lot of light and heat. Most often it consists of helium and hydrogen. Celestial bodies are in a state of equilibrium due to their own gravity and the internal pressure of the body itself.

Depending on the life cycle and structure, the following types of stars are distinguished:

This includes all objects that have low mass and low temperature.
White dwarf. This type includes all stars that are at the end of their life path. At this moment, the star contracts, then cools down and goes out.
Red giant.
New star.
Supernova.
Blue variables.
Hypernova.
Neutron.
Unique.
Ultra-X-ray stars. They emit huge amounts of radiation.

Depending on the spectrum, stars are blue, red, yellow, white, orange and other tones.

For each planet there is a letter classification.

Class A or geothermal planets. This group includes all young celestial bodies on which violent volcanism occurs. If a planet has an atmosphere, it is liquefied and very thin.
Class B. These are also young planets, but more massive than A.
Class C. Such planets are often covered in ice.
Class D. This includes asteroids and
Class E. These are young and small planets.
Class F. Celestial bodies with volcanic activity and a completely metallic core.
Class M. These include all Earth-like planets, including the Earth.
Class O or ocean planets.
Class P - ice, etc.

Each species includes hundreds and thousands of different stars and planets, and each celestial body has its own name. Although scientists have not been able to count all the galaxies and stars in the Universe, even those billions that have already been discovered speak of the vastness and diversity of the cosmic world.

Names of constellations and stars

From Earth you can see several thousand different stars, and each of them has its own name. Many names were given in ancient times.

The very first name was given to the Sun - the brightest and largest star. Although by cosmic standards it is not the largest and not the brightest. So what are the most beautiful star names out there? The most beautiful stars with sonorous names are:

Sirius, or Alpha Canis Major.
Vega, or Alpha Lyrae.
Toliman, or Alpha Centauri.
Canopus, or Alpha Carinae.
Arcturus, or Alpha Bootes.

These names were given by people in different periods. Thus, beautiful names of stars and constellations given in the pre-antique and Greek periods have been preserved to this day. Ptolemy's writings contain descriptions of some of the brightest stars. His works say that Sirius is a star located in the constellation Canis Major. Sirius can be seen in the mouth of the constellation. On the hind legs of the Canis Minor there is bright Star called Procyon. Antares can be seen in the middle of the Scorpio constellation. On Lyra's shell is Vega or Alpha Lyra. There is a star with an unusual name - Goat or Capella, located in

It was customary among the Arabs to name stars based on the location of the body in the constellation. Because of this, many stars have names or parts of names meaning body, tail, neck, shoulder, etc. For example: Ras is Alpha Hercules, i.e. the head, and Menkib is the shoulder. Moreover, stars in different constellations were called by a similar name: Perseus, Orion, Centaurus, Pegasus, etc.

During the Renaissance, an atlas of the starry sky appeared. It presented old and new objects. Its compiler was Bayer, who proposed adding letters of the Greek alphabet to the names of stars. So, the brightest star is Alpha, a little dimmer is Beta, etc.

Among all the existing names of celestial bodies, it is difficult to choose the most beautiful name of a star. After all, each of them is beautiful in its own way.

Constellation names

The most beautiful names of stars and constellations were given in ancient times, and many of them have survived to this day. So, the ancient Greeks came up with the idea of giving the Ursa Bears a name. Beautiful legends are associated with them. One of them says that one king had a daughter of unusual beauty with whom Zeus fell in love. Hera, the wife of God, was very jealous and decided to teach the princess a lesson by turning her into a bear. One day, Callisto's son returned home and saw a bear, he almost killed her - Zeus intervened. He took the princess to his heaven, turning her into the Big Dipper, and her son into the Little Dipper, who must always protect her mother. This constellation contains the star Arcturus, which means "guardian of the bear." Ursa Minor and Ursa Major are non-setting constellations that are always visible in the night sky.

Among the most beautiful names of stars and galaxies, it is worth highlighting the constellation Orion. He was the son of Poseidon - the god of the seas and oceans. Orion was famous for his skill as a hunter, and there was no animal that he could not defeat. For this boast, Hera, the wife of Zeus, sent a scorpion to Orion. He died from his bite, and Zeus took him to heaven, placing him so that he could always escape from his enemy. Because of this, the constellations Orion and Scorpio never meet in the night sky.

History of the names of bodies in the Solar System

Today, scientists use modern equipment to track celestial bodies. But once upon a time, in ancient times, the discoverers of planets could not see as far as modern astronomers. At that time, they gave beautiful names to the planets, but now they are called by the name of the telescope that discovered the “new thing.”

Mercury

Since ancient times, people have observed various celestial bodies, come up with names for them, and try to describe them. One of the planets that came to the attention of ancient scientists is Mercury. The planet received its beautiful name in ancient times. Even then, scientists knew that this planet revolves around the Sun at tremendous speed - it completes a full revolution in just 88 days. Because of this, he was named after the fleet-footed god Mercury.

Venus

Among the beautiful names of planets, Venus is also highlighted. This is the second planet in the solar system, which was named after the goddess of love - Venus. The object is considered the brightest after the Moon and the Sun and the only one among all celestial bodies that was named after a female god.

Earth

It has had this name since 1400, and no one knows who exactly gave the planet this name. By the way, Earth is the only planet in the solar system that is not related to mythology.

Mars

Among the beautiful names of planets and stars, Mars stands out. This is the seventh largest planet in our system with a red surface. Nowadays, even small children know about this planet.

Jupiter and Saturn

Jupiter is named after the thunder god, and Saturn got its name because of its slowness. Initially it was called Kronos, but later it was renamed, choosing an analogue - Satur. This is the god of agriculture. As a result, this planet began to be called by this name.

Other planets

For several centuries, scientists have explored only the planets of our solar system. Other planets outside our universe were first seen only in 1994. Opened and registered since then a large number of a variety of planets, and many of them are more like the fantasy of film scriptwriters. Among all known objects, exoplanets, that is, those that are similar to Earth, are of greatest interest. Theoretically, there could be life on them.

The most beautiful names of planets and stars were given in ancient times, and it’s hard to argue with that. Although, some of the “finds” have unofficial unusual nicknames. So, among them it is worth highlighting the planet Osiris - this is a gas body that contains oxygen, hydrogen and carbon; these substances gradually evaporate from the surface of the celestial body. This event led to the emergence of a new category of bodies - chthonic planets.

Among the most beautiful names of planets in the universe, this one stands out. It is located in The exoplanet rotates in an elongated orbit around its star. She has two because of this she is somewhat similar to our Saturn. Epsilon is located 10.5 light years away from us. A year on it lasts 2500 Earth days.

Among the beautiful names of the planets of the Universe, Tatooine or HD188753 Ab are highlighted. It is located in the constellation Cygnus, consisting of three objects: yellow, red and orange dwarfs. Presumably, Tatooine is a hot gas giant that orbits its main star in 3.5 days.

Among them are Tres. It is almost the same size as Jupiter. It has low density. The beauty of the planet is that due to extreme heating, the atmosphere is lost. This phenomenon causes the effect of a trailing tail, like that of an asteroid.

The most beautiful name of the planet - Methuselah, sounds like some kind of demonic name. It orbits two objects at once - a white dwarf and a pulsar. In six earthly months, Methuselah makes a full revolution.

Not so long ago, scientists discovered one of them is Gliese. It has almost the same orbit; it itself revolves around its star in a zone where the emergence of life is not excluded. And who knows, maybe she has it on her, but we don’t know that yet.

Among all the objects, Cancer-e or the Diamond planet has the most beautiful name of the planet, as well as the most unusual structure. She didn't get her nickname by accident. According to scientists, Cancer is eight times heavier than the Earth. Its main element is carbon, therefore, most of the object consists of crystalline diamonds. Because of this feature, the planet is considered the most expensive in the Universe. It is estimated that only 0.18% of this object could fully pay off all the world's debts.

Depths of space

Considering the most beautiful names stars in the universe, it is worth mentioning galaxies, nebulae and other space objects. So, among the most unusual but attractive names and objects themselves are:

Modern technologies allowed us to look into the distant depths of Space, see a variety of objects, and give them names. One of the dramatic objects is War and Peace. This unusual nebula, due to the high density of gas, forms a bubble around a bright cluster of stars, and then ultraviolet radiation heats the gas and pushes it out into space. This beautiful sight looks as if in this exact place in the Universe, stars and gas accumulations are fighting for space in open space.